


The Prison of the Heart

by Aromantic_Royalty



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Child Abuse, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, F/F, M/M, Persona 5 Protagonist Has A Palace
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-03
Updated: 2020-05-06
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:13:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,091
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23984377
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aromantic_Royalty/pseuds/Aromantic_Royalty
Summary: "Moving back home to his rural small town, Akira's parents have had one of two reaction to him, completely ignoring him or continuing to guilt him for getting arrested and Akira does not know how to properly react to it. His home town, feeling especially small after his year in Tokyo, has been suffocating him." Even with the disappearance of the metaverse, a new destination has come, a palace of the Phantoms leader, will the Phantom Thieves be able to save their leader or will he be lost to the distortions of his own heart.
Relationships: Amamiya Ren/Kitagawa Yusuke, Kitagawa Yusuke/Kurusu Akira, Kitagawa Yusuke/Persona 5 Protagonist, Niijima Makoto/Okumura Haru
Comments: 4
Kudos: 82
Collections: Actually good stories(persona5)





	1. Back Home (Not Really)

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was inspired by the amazing fan theme for the Persona 5 Protagonist's Palace by Ode Imaginations, here's the link if you would like to take a listen and I highly recommend listening it if you have the chance to in your free time. 
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QiYZXNOHhMc

Moving back home to his rural small town, Akira's parents have had one of two reactions to him, completely ignoring him or continuing to guilt him for getting arrested and Akira does not know how to properly react to it. His home town, feeling especially small after his year in Tokyo, has been suffocating him slowly from the inside out. Even with Morgana still living with him and the constant calls to his friends back in Tokyo, it feels like he has been sinking into an abyss of nothingness for a long time. Despite feeling like he had found himself in a little way in Tokyo, he had been losing himself ever since being arrested again, not knowing who he is against who he is around other people, feeling ever changing each and every day. 

“Morgana?” Akira asks randomly one morning, laying in his bed facing the ceiling, not particularly moving much, “how are you so confident in who you are? And how do you know who you are?” 

“Are you okay?” Morgana asks, moving from his spot on the desk to sitting on the bed next to Akira, “you don’t ask questions like that.” 

Akira sits up, shaking his head, a fake smile painting his face, “I’m fine Morgana, don’t worry about me. Just a passing thought, nothing more.”

Morgana looks at him, noticing the fake smile, “you sure Akira? Cause it’s not like you to question-” Morgana gets cut off with a yell from Akira’s mother, telling him to hurry up and get downstairs, to Akira’s room, shocking both Akira and Morgana, causing Akira to jump out of his bed. 

Akira, quickly going to change into clothes, did not want to anger his mother further in fear of punishment. Throwing on a simple outfit, he rushes down the stairs, hoping that he got there quick enough to avoid her punishment for the day. 

“Akira Kurusu, why are you late coming down to the table today? And you better not give another half baked excuse like last time,” Akira’s mother asks, an annoyed tone coating her voice. She looks down at Akira as he looks at the table in front of him instead of her. Slamming her hand on the table, Akira jumps, finally looking at her, making sure that no emotions come across on his face, his mother rolls her eyes, “show some respect to me, now answer my question Akira, why are you late coming down to the table again?”

“I woke up late mother, that is all,” Akira mutters, looking to the side of her face instead of actually at her. 

“What did you say? You know I hate the muttering Akira, what’s your excuse this time?” 

“I woke up late, my alarm didn't go off,” Akira’s breathing sped up a little, feeling his mother close in on his personal space, she looked at him with a look of disappointment pointed at him. Sighing loudly, she moves closer to him, cutting off one of his escape routes, pinning him down with a hard glare. 

“You mean the alarm that I set for you? The one that I tested to make sure it worked? That one didn’t go off?” 

“Yes mother,” Akira again mutters, feeling his heart race, wanting to run but doesn’t see any way to escape the situation. 

“Do you want to try another explanation Akira? Would you like another shot without lying to me this time?” She continues to get closer to Akira, not letting him have any space to even breathe. 

Akira stays extremely quiet, not saying a single word out of fear and anxiety, barely even breathing, not knowing any way to answer as the world flashes in front of him. He looks around without moving his head, seeing bars on the windows and himself in prison stripes for a couple of seconds. 

“I thought so, go back to your room, you’re not allowed to leave there for the day. Do not even think of getting your phone and calling those so called friends of yours. Even the cat stays out of your room.” Akira’s mother finally leaves his space, walking back to the kitchen and not looking at him, not acknowledging him now that she was done with essentially her lecture, not giving him a second thought. 

Akira, chest tightening and feeling heavy, trudges his way to his room, leaving his phone and computer outside the door to his room, knowing that his mother would get enraged if she knew he had them. He lays on his bed, looking around his barren room, he feels a sense of being trapped once again, nowhere to go and nowhere to hide in not only the house but the entirety of the tiny hometown he had found himself trapped in. 

Wishing he had never left Tokyo and feeling an overwhelming sense of dread rain down upon him, he is trapped with his thoughts. He thinks about the tiny family he made in Tokyo, the ones that made him feel whole, or at least he thinks made him feel whole. Ryuji, the one who always made him laugh and feel as if he was special. Ann, who brightened his day with her smile and sunshine. Makoto, the queen, the one who made things make sense in a way that very few people could do. Futaba, the little sister he never knew he needed but loved in every way imaginable. Haru, while one of the sweetest people he had ever met but would violently protect every member of this family with the whole of her being. Morgana, who reminds him to sleep every night and tries to care for him when no one else in his hometown would. And, as he thinks about Yusuke, a smile flickers across his face, one of his favorite people in the world, looking at everything differently than everyone else, seeing the world as a canvas and wanting to make that mark on it, while also trying to be the best boyfriend he can be, always making Akira smile no matter what mood he is in. He loved every member of that family with the whole of his being, but every single day of his life, believes that he is not deserving of them. 

Laying down on his bed, he closes his eyes and falls asleep, not knowing if he wants to leave this place immediately or if he just wants to die, never leaving ever again.


	2. Where is He?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Akira doesn't answer the group call, the former Phantom Thieves get worried.

In the attic of LeBlanc, the former Phantom Thieves are spread across the room, trying and failing to call Akira, getting more and more dejected with each failed call.

“Where the eff is he? It was supposed to be today, right?” Ryuji asks after the third failed call to Akira, leaning back in his chair. 

“He has been known to miss calls in the past Ryuji, don’t get too worried,” Makoto calmly replies, yet the anxiety is still extremely present in her eyes as she rubs her hands repeatedly. 

“Well, he said he would be here though, he promised us, he doesn’t break his promises. Do you think something happened?” Ann asks, “cause I’m starting to get worried.” 

“Do you want me to hack into his computer? I can see what’s happening through his camera,” Futaba asks, “Or do you want me to hack his phone instead?” 

“Nothing of the sort Futaba, if he doesn’t answer, he doesn’t answer, that’s the end of it,” Haru says softly, also looking worried, “but he did promise this call.”

“So do you want me to do it or not? I need an answer soon,” Futaba grabs her computer, a determined look in her eyes, about to start doing it. 

Yusuke, sitting closest to the computer, tries calling Akira’s phone. As the phone rings, thoughts rush through his head, as he stands up, starting to pace the room a little, wanting to know where Akira is. 

“Are you trying him again Inari?” Futaba asks, looking at him intensely. 

“Yes, he will usually answer for me,” his voice sounds incredibly calm, hiding the turbulent emotions rushing through him at a rate he is not used to. 

“Hi, this is Akira Kurusu, I’m not at the phone right now. I will call back at my earliest convenience. If this is Yusuke, I love you,” the voicemail message says before beeping. Yusuke tries again immediately after the message stops, not accepting the fact that Akira did not answer. 

Yusuke puts the phone on speaker when the ringing stops, asking hesitantly, “Akira, is that you?” 

“Who is this?” A female with a snappy tone of voice answers.

“This is Yusuke, with Haru, Ann, Ryuji, Makoto, and Futaba, who are you ma'am?” Yusuke, with his calm, extremely polite tone asks. 

“Well, this is Akira’s mom, he is in a lot of trouble and cannot come to the phone for the rest of the week. Stop calling, it's annoying everyone in the house right now. You are being extremely rude at the moment.” 

“I’m sorry ma’am, but Akira had promised to talk to all of us today and we had gotten worried about him, may I ask why he is in trouble for the week?” Makoto asks, wanting to know why her friend had gotten in trouble, knowing that he would not intentionally do anything wrong based on their semi weekly chats. 

“Why would you like to know? It’s not as he has any friends considering what a disappointment he is.”

“Disappointment? Akira?” Ann asks, looking at everyone, “why would Akira be classified as a disappointment?”

“You do know why he was in Tokyo, right? He had gotten himself arrested, should have just kept his head down.”

“We do know why he was here, but considering the fact that his name was cleared, it was a false report of unprovoked violence. Also, Akira is one of the sweetest, most honest people all of us have ever met, disappointment is the least accurate word to describe him as,” Yusuke answers quickly. 

Akira’s mom laughs loudly, shaking her head even though she knows no one can see the gesture, “he must have gotten to you too. Akira manipulates and lies to everyone around him, he always has. In fact that’s why he is in trouble right now. Now stop calling this phone or I will call the police.” The call stops quickly after that last sentence, leaving everyone in various states of shock. 

Yusuke puts his phone down, “that is the woman Akira lives with? I know that he said he hated it back home but I was not expecting,” he trails off slowly. 

“Holy shit,” Ryuji, his eyes wide, “how can a mother be so cruel to their own son? It’s times like this that I wish the metaverse was still here.”

“Maybe Futaba should hack into his phone, just to see what’s going on in that house,” Ann suggests. 

“Honestly, I’m not opposed to that plan, at all, it’s not like we haven’t done worse,” Haru mentions, “plus, I’m worried about him.” 

“We all are Haru, do it Futaba,” Makoto says firmly. 

“Considering that I have his phone bugged, this is not going to be a hack, I can get some voice conversations from the last couple of weeks,” Futaba casually mentions. 

“We’ll talk about the bug later, just do whatever it is you are going to do Futaba,” Makoto sits down next to Haru, “you don’t have our phones bugged, right Futaba?” 

“Nope! Only his phone, mostly because he was leaving and I had to keep an eye on him somehow,” shrugging her shoulders, “here we are. This was recorded this last week I believe.” 

“Again, we’ll talk about bugging phones later, play the recording please.” 

_“Why are you late coming home Akira?”_

_“I lost track of time mother and I was a little too far away.”_

_“Is that true? Or are you lying to me again? Just like you always do.”_

_“I was just on the phone and lost track of time, that is all mother.”_

_"There’s a long silence until a slap is heard, “that is what you get for lying to me again, go to your room, no dinner tonight.” ___

__The recording stops playing, the room is still and quiet. Barely a breath is heard throughout the room and nobody moves._ _

__“What did we just listen to? Is that what he lives with?” Ann asks, tears pooling in the corners of her eyes._ _

__“Wait, there’s something else on his phone,” Futaba, extremely confused, “why is the metaverse app on his phone?”_ _


End file.
